What does a City Secretary do?
A City Secretary plays a crucial role in the governance and administration of a city or local government. Their primary responsibilities involve managing official records, attending City Council meetings, and ensuring compliance with legal, regulatory, and procedural requirements. They are also responsible for maintaining and publishing records of public meetings, administering oaths of office, and providing support to various departments within the City. Additionally, City Secretaries may also assist with public outreach efforts, liaising with community groups and stakeholders to promote transparency and engagement in local governance. Overall, the role of a City Secretary is central to ensuring the smooth and effective functioning of a City’s government.
Our City Secretary job description includes the City Secretary responsibilities, duties, skills, education, qualifications, and experience.
City Secretary Example
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If you need an example job description for a City Secretary download the one below, alternatively we have many other Public Sector job description samples and a job description library with over 3000 job descriptions templates that you can download for free.
What does a City Secretary do?
The City Secretary is responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the City Council’s operations and providing support to the Mayor and Councillors. The City Secretary acts as the administrative leader of the City Council, supervising staff and managing the records and communications of the Council.
The City Secretary’s duties include but are not limited to:
• Developing, implementing and evaluating policies and procedures to ensure the efficient and effective operation of the City Council.
• Supervising the activities of staff, including providing guidance, training and support.
• Maintaining accurate and secure records of all City Council activities, including minutes of meetings, correspondence, financial and legal documents.
• Preparing and distributing agendas for meetings, ensuring compliance with open meetings laws.
• Serving as the City Council’s official spokesperson and liaison to the public and local media.
• Working with the Mayor and Councillors to develop and implement initiatives that benefit the City.
• Attending meetings and providing administrative support, including taking minutes and preparing reports.
• Overseeing the budget and accounting activities for the City Council.
• Carrying out any other duties as required.
City Secretary Role Purpose
The primary purpose of a City Secretary is to ensure that all governmental procedures, processes and regulations are followed in a local government setting. The City Secretary is responsible for managing the official records and documents of the municipality, as well as providing administrative support to the Mayor and City Council. The City Secretary also serves as a liaison between the city government and the public, providing information about municipal services, laws and regulations, and conducting elections. In addition, the City Secretary is responsible for coordinating and attending official council meetings, preparing and circulating agendas, taking minutes, and maintaining the official records of the municipality.
City Secretary Role
The City Secretary is responsible for managing the administrative and operational functions of the City government, including providing administrative support to the Mayor and City Council, coordinating and managing the City's records and information systems, and ensuring compliance with all statutory, legal and regulatory requirements.
City Secretary Duties
- Maintain accurate records of council meetings and other official proceedings
- Prepare agendas and take minutes of meetings
- Advise councillors and council staff on procedural matters
- Ensure compliance with relevant legislation and regulations
- Coordinate local elections
- Carry out research and respond to enquiries
- Maintain registers, licensing and planning applications
- Provide administrative support to the council
City Secretary Requirements
- Manage the administrative operations of the city
- Maintain official records of the city
- Attend and record city council meetings
- Develop and manage the budget for the city
- Prepare and manage contracts for the city
City Secretary Skills
- Organisational Skills
- Attention to Detail
- Working with People
City Secretary Personal Traits
- Strong organisational and communication skills
- Ability to take initiative and work independently
- Attention to detail
- High level of accuracy
- Efficient administrative and IT skills
How to write a City Secretary Job Advert
Use our job advert template to write a job advert for posting on job sites and job boards. Our job advertising templates are carefully created to help you reach your audience and beat the competition to the best talent.
A job description informs the reader about a job, whereas a job advert’s main objective is to sell the job opportunity to attract as many suitable applicants possible. A job advert maybe the first touch-point a candidate has with your company so it is important to create a great impression.
Job Advertisements should enticing, so considering using short, exciting language which get the reader’s attention.
How to write a City Secretary Job Description
To write a job description, we recommend starting with a job description template from our job description library, which contains examples for 800+ positions and professions. Our job description examples include a job summary with duties and responsibilities and skills and requirements, which can be personalised for your job vacancy.
Job Description Advice - Guidance on How to Personalise a City Secretary Job Specification
The hiring process and recruiting new employees to fill your key roles requires a degree of personalisation if you are to attract the best employees in a competitive employment market. The right person for a crucial role or more senior roles will likely have other employers targeting them. As your job description will be the first point of contact, you need to nail your pitch and provide the best possible service.
Job Description Tips - Help on formatting a City Secretary Job Specification
When creating your bespoke description and advert, you should cover and promote these points:
Job title: This should accurately reflect the role and include keywords that top talent might be using to search for jobs.
Job duties: The day to day duties, such as administrative tasks, which vary depending on the company and inform the candidate if they can complete the role.
Technical skills: These are the hard skills required through training, such as proficiency with Microsoft Office.
Soft skills: These include the interpersonal skills and general abilities the right candidates will possess. For example, the competency to prioritise multiple tasks, handle customer queries and customer complaints, work alone, or build a good relationship with coworkers.
The company's culture: Highlighting your company culture and values ensures employees thrive and find outstanding job satisfaction. Candidates that are not the right fit won’t waste their time completing the application process, meaning you can focus on qualified individuals and hire in a more timely manner.
Career progression: Including the career path will entice candidates looking for career growth.
Training and development programs: Smaller companies may need employees with previous experience or provide educational assistance over internal training offered by larger organisations with more significant resources.
Employee benefits: Compensation and benefits often fail to appear in job ads and while you may want to hold your cards close to your chest, failing to include them is a mistake. Consider answering common questions, such as working hours and paid leave. Researching the average salary for the role in these early stages will ensure you don’t waste your interviewer’s and the candidate’s time.
Skill gaps: Your company may need to bring in new skills beyond those required to complete the key role and duties. Thinking on an organisational level can be beneficial when contemplating skills diversity.
Legal requirements: Ensure your job advert and description does not ask for inappropriate or discriminatory personal details, such as age, marital status, or religion.
How to Hire a City Secretary
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